List 5 ongoing goals of a RIT team while staged in the CP?

Maybe you all can help some confused fire departments and members throughout the country. Each of you list your most important goals for RIT teams to be able to prepare for, monitor, accomplish at an on-going structural fire.

1) Set up small tool staging tarp in an area where the team can see at least 2 sides of the building and get your basic equipment on it, (Irons, saws, rescue pack, TIC, etc).

2) Perform a thorough walk around size up, 2 team members at a time, until ALL team members get a look.

3) Inform command that RIT is ready and set up and ask for an uncharged backup hoseline be readied by the building to come in behind the team.

4) Perform standby having team complete the following; check all tools & equipment on tarp for readiness including TIC, rotate members every 15 minutes at completely listening to the fireground radio channel obtaining crew locations and fire conditions, ensure that a ladder is placed on the fire building, perform periodic 15 minute walk-arounds of the fire building, keep the team members focused on the incident by asking "what if" questions, obtain locations of on-scene specialized rescue tools, find out what type of SCBA are being used on the fireground, figure out team member strong & weak points and assign duties if deployed, (I could go on but I won't)

Re: List 5 ongoing goals of a RIT team while staged in the CP?

Originally posted by 111truck
[B]Maybe you all can help some confused fire departments and members throughout the country.

And the rest of the world!
First structure fire I went to after joining the local volunteer brigade down here I asked about Rapid Intervention, and got a row of blank looks. Unfortunately 5 years later nothing has changed in a service of 63,000 firefighters! One of these days I'll go firefighting in the U.S. again to remind myself how things should be done.

PBFTRK33 said
3) Inform command that RIT is ready and set up and ask for an uncharged backup hoseline be readied by the building to come in behind the team.

I agree with what you said except the part about the charged hose line. The job of the RIT team is to get in and get out as fast as possiable. To have this hose line come in behind you only causes more trouble because then there are more people in your way. That is why the RIT team is limited to usually 4 people because of the ability of the team to work fast with little resistance from others. When the call goes out for a MAYDAY everyone works a little faster then normal thus making the reason for the small RIT team more important. In closing, #5 praying that you will never be used is the most important of all.

If a firefighter, or firefighters are calling for a RIT/FAST then they are in a bad situation.
Remember folks - we are the fire department, and maybe - just maybe, the building will be on fire, and that fire situation may be what has necessitated the activation of the RIT/FAST.

It is imperative that there be a handline available for use.

What if you get to your downed firefighter(s), and they are being threatened by a worsening fire situation - one that may soon make the conditions untenable?
What are you going to do.... Tell your fellow firefighter that you will be right back- you have to get a handline?
A handline is just as valuable as any hand tool, or a radio. It will allow you to make a defensive stand- that just may save the firefighter you were called in to save.

I'd much rather have an uncharged line - so I can simply call for water.

And, I personally feel that the RIT/FAST team should be as large as possible, or necessary.
What if 4 isn't enough? What happens when your initial 4 man team runs out of air? Who replaces them? Why not have 8 firefighters assigned to RIT/FAST- then when the first team reaches 1/4 of their air supply, they can be replaced by 4 fresh firefighters....

I know- few, if any departments have the manpower that I speak of, but lets not sell ourselves short.

Having eight people on the RIT/FAST team would be a great thing. With most volunteer departements it is hard enough to get the needed 4 people. The way that I was taught the RIT/FAST team should be done was a 2 person search of the victim and upon finding report back to the other two team memebers. The first team is resposible for "packaging" of the trapped firemen and then the other two go in and do the necessary rescue and extraction from the fire. This seemed to work well during training and thank god I have never used any skills for real. For your larger fires you can have the 8 people on the RIT/FAST team.

Priorities

Personally, I wouldn't rule anything out. Doing so only sets you up for failure. I personally don't believe in such tight assignments, like 2 package and 2 remove.. depends on who finds them, where they are, what the situation is. You have to look at the event that got the firefighters in trouble. If its a flashover or rapid fire spread, ya really need a line. In almost every case you have to be expert at getting air to the trapped firefighters. If you need an 8 member team, or 2 smaller teams because of the building your at, ask for them. You may want hose, more ladders, whatever.. every building is different. Think about this, if we could become really good at only 2 things I'd pick creating a defensible space in the building with handlines and keeping a continuous air supply to the victim. Both of these skills would allow us the time necessary to solve even the toughest rescue scenario.

Id add to the list:
1. Check the building for hazards that will impede escape, bars, shutters, bolted doors and address with command or fix
2. I like to stage near command or accountability to listen in on progress reports (face to face) and also watch/listen for company assignments. Keeps you more involved with whats going on should you be needed

northhfd,
I am actually quite surprised that anyone in the fire service that works a fireground would say that a protective hoseline is not necessary to back up a RIT for a Mayday. When a RIT deploys into an actively burning structure after a lost or disoriented firefighter, or worse a trapped firefighter, they will need water protection to create a defendable space around the victim and themselves if conditions deteriorate in their area. I am not suggesting that the RIT deploy this line but another 2 person crew that would be available if the RIT deploys into the structure. Having the RIT deploy a hoseline would only slow the team down. This hoseline would not have to immediately be advanced in behind the team but within a reasonable amount of time, thus having it pre-stretched and ready. This protective hosecrew would advance to the area that the RIT is working, have the line charged, and standby. They should stay back out of the way of the team but be able to respond if needed. Remember, charged hoselines can be used for lifelines out as well as performing charged hoseline pulls for firefighters that have fallen through floors. No one said RIT operations were easy. They are manpower and labor intensive and will chew up alot of your resources. The question that I raise to everyone is; Who else is going to do it? Remember, we are solely responsible for rescueing our own, and that includes covering ALL bases such as protective hoselines for the downed firefighter and RIT.

I'm also with Halligan. I hate to see other FAS Teams that sit in front of a building with their little tarp and stokes basket, but meanwhile the dept. or incident they are covering is a fire on a upper floor and there are no ground ladders thrown. FAST/RIT should not be idle. They should prevent an incident from occuring instead of having to react to one. Throwing ladders is another example on top of Halligans.

As far as the handline goes. Its all a matter of (again)..size up. There are times where you may need it. And there are times where it may slow you down. I'm a firm believer that if there is a person trapped and you know where they are, and the room has a possibility of becoming enveloped or to flash. Load it with water. Deck gun or whatever. They (including civilians) have a better chance. And yes I'll take steam over being cooked anyday.

Other then that, perform constant size ups. Keep team members informed of changing conditions (interior and exterior, and even weather) and/or tactics. FAST/RIT is an extension of the safety sector. Their word should be just as respected as the safety officer.

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The above is my opinion only and doesn't reflect that of any dept/agency I work for, deal with, or am a member of.

Ditto with Halligan and ALS, Everyone needs to keep in mind that working structure fires and the fire service in general is not paint by numbers. There Are No Absolutes in the Fire Service! You can not limit your own operations by saying that, "We are going to do it this way,, ALL THE TIME!" saying this is like asking to fail. A good RIT team will work very closely with the Safety Officer, keeping tabs on where the bulk of the operation is going on. Listening to communications between command, ops, and crews. A good RIT Team will also take care of things that often get forgotten. If your on RIT and you have teams on the second floor with no secondary egress route, or ground ladder in place, Tell safety and get it done! plan your egress routes carefully, plan to bring a downed FF to the ground where you can do it easily and without obstruction. Make all the crews aware of what you have done. And finally, the RIT doesn't have to stand on the tarp with their thumbs inserted, looking forlorn because they can't get to it with their brothers. Take a walk around, look for egress routes, possible problems or obstacles and other safety concern.

We are going in to rescue down firefighters so: we are backing them up with manpower.

Maybe they are out of air or running low on air: so we bring in backup bottles.

Maybe they have a malfunctioning SCBA: so we bring in a backup SCBA.

Maybe they are trapped so we bring in tools: we are backing up the tools they had.

Maybe their hoseline burned through or was cut or burst: so why not bring in a backup hoseline as well?

It is a constant process of backups.

I hope that makes some sense.

As far as the size of RIT teams:
At my unpaid professional department (volunteer) we played copy cat with a Lt.'s test we saw right here on firehouse that a department used.

We put several officers, (3 out of the 4 are paid firefighters at other departments), inside a building with 700 psi in their bottle and they had a blacked out mask, got them lost and told them to find their way out. We then sent a RIT team in to get them with masks blacked out as well. The RIT Teams went from a team of 4, then a team of 6, then 2 teams of 2.

The teams of 4 did O.K. and carried a variety of tools, (irons, SCBA, etc.). They were somewhat fast in their search.

The teams of 2 were very mobile but limited in equipment they could carry.

The team of 6 didn't get very far at all due to confusion with so many people on the team searching and in the end they all "died" when one ran out of air and used up their backup SCBA and they got lost.

Moral? 4 seemed to be the optimum for a RIT team, and instead of 8 try two teams of 4, they are highly mobile and can carry a variety of tools including maybe a two person hosline, and two teams can cover more ground.

First of all I agree that a back up line is a real life need for the RIT Team to insure there is no fire impingment on the team or the downed firefighter. I disagree that the RIT TEAM should be fighting fire. I'll explain. The RIT TEAM needs to do as little as possible to ensure that they are fresh for the rescue. If a MAY DAY is called IC needs to put a firefighting crew in with the RIT to ensure there safety if fire progression is a issue to the rescue. The TEAM is a rescue team and not a fire team. If the RIT wants to take a hose line with them and not assign a fire team then I agree take it in dry, call for water so as not to tire the TEAM drgging a charged line. As a previous post said take it dry. The RIT is there to be a rescue team and can not get side tracked fighting fire unless its impinging on the rescue of the downed firefighter. This is my opinion only
The key to RIT and survival is RAPID...

I've never been so near death before than what I just was after I choked on my soda after reading that RIT shouldn't worry about a hose line. But I think (after I sat back and thought about it for a bit) we might all be misinterpreting what he was trying to say. I think what he is saying is that maybe the RIT team itself shouldn't worry about the hose. Somone later said something about having a crew of fire supressors go in to cover the RIT team. This is somewhat the way we do things. RIT in most situations is going to need some water. Of course their goal isn't to fight the fire, but more times than not you will have to do some fire supression to get to your downed or Pinned personel.

The fact of the matter is, is that when RIT is needed the situation is in worst circumstances. This means (usually) fire and alot of it, and most of the time fast moving. If you have no water, you better hope you have a 2nd RIT team out side to come in and get your *** out now.

Of course as always the words written here are mine and represent only myself and my views.